How to Setup a VPN on Your Asus Router to Access Your Home Network from Anywhere

For many, setting up a VPN on their home router may seem daunting, especially since many VPNs come with a ton of features, making it hard to know where to start. Don’t worry, we’re here to help with 10 steps that will have you up and running in no time!

The Simple And Stunning Solution

If we had to offer just one piece of advice to anyone setting up a VPN on their home router it would be “start small and simple”. You don’t need to go overboard and pick a complex VPN solution just to achieve basic functionality. A lot of VPNs are overpriced and overengineered, which is why we recommend avoiding them and going for the simple (yet efficient) OpenVPN.

Now, the reason why we recommend OpenVPN over all other VPNs is because it is one of the most popular and well-known solutions to connecting home routers to the Internet. Not only is it a relatively simple and straightforward solution to setting up a VPN, but it is also incredibly secure and efficient, something that is hard to find in one place these days. Also, OpenVPN works with a ton of different devices, which is great if you have a diverse home network. Finally, for those who are looking for an open-source solution, they can check out the OpenVPN source code, which is publicly available and free to download and inspect.

The Downsides Of Hotspots

While we don’t necessarily recommend avoiding hotspots, we do want you to be aware of their downsides. First off, let’s say you’re on holiday and you want to use your home WiFi to access the Internet. You might end up paying a lot for data since most hotspots impose data caps. This can quickly become expensive if you’re not aware of this fact beforehand. Next up, not all hotspots are created equal, especially if you live in an area where there is a lot of competition. This is where it becomes tricky to connect since not all hotspots will have the best connection for your device. This, too, can become expensive if you’re paying for a lot of data.

Private DNS

If we had to offer just one piece of advice to anyone setting up a VPN on their home router it would be “use private DNS”. Not only does this dramatically cut down on the amount of DNS errors you’ll encounter while using public DNS, but it also ensures that your personal data is much less accessible to anyone else. You don’t need to use perfect private DNS servers for this to work though; any decent enough DNS server will suffice.

Not only is going through a VPN important if you’re accessing a public network (like the Internet) via a private network (like your home WiFi), but it’s also beneficial if you’re using a public network from within your own home. For example, let’s say you have an office in your home that you use for work. You have multiple computers and devices there, all connected to the Internet through your home WiFi. If you’re within that office space and you want to access your company’s VPN, you’ll need to go through your home’s WiFi to do so. This is where using a VPN becomes extremely beneficial – instead of connecting through your office’s WiFi, which could be monitored by your company, you’ll connect through your home’s WiFi, which is a lot harder to trace.

The Importance Of Authentication

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to use strong and proper passwords when setting up a VPN. A good password manager is an invaluable tool and makes it much easier to set up strong and complex passwords, which you’ll need to do if you’re using strong encryption. Not only that, but it’s also a good idea to use different passwords for different networks and accounts. This way, if someone hacks into your email account, they won’t be able to access your VPN connection when you’re using it since the passwords don’t match.

Always Use A VPN When Overseas Travel

If we had to offer just one piece of advice to anyone setting up a VPN on their home router it would be “always use a VPN when overseas”. Let’s say you’re traveling abroad for a holiday and you want to use your home WiFi to access the Internet. If you don’t use a VPN, you’re exposing yourself to a ton of risk since your Internet connection could be monitored and/or blocked by the government (or even your own company).

Even if you use a VPN, you’re still at risk since most VPNs don’t encrypt traffic going over a public network (like the Internet), which exposes your personal data to potential hackers. Using a VPN only when you’re overseas (or even within 30 miles of your home) is a good idea; otherwise, you’re just asking for trouble.

Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication is a security measure that requires you to input a code (usually a one-time-password (OTP) generated by an authenticator app on your phone) along with your username and password to access sensitive information or perform transactions. It’s a great way to increase your security while on the Internet, especially if you use a VPN since a lot of hackers and scammers try to steal confidential information by guessing passwords or looking at confidential data in plain text. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security and makes it harder for unauthorized individuals to access your personal information.

Consider A Cloud VPN

If we had to offer just one piece of advice to anyone setting up a VPN on their home router it would be “consider a cloud VPN”. A lot of people avoid using VPNs because they think they’re too complex or difficult to set up. If you fall in this category, then you may be surprised to learn that a cloud VPN is both easy to use and has a lot of features available, making it completely worth your while.

A cloud VPN allows you to connect to a server which is maintained and hosted by a third party, typically a data center staffed by professionals. This approach to VPNs provides a number of advantages. First, since the service provider is maintaining the VPN server, it reduces the risk of experiencing errors or connection problems. Also, since the service provider is hosting the VPN server for you, it means you don’t have to worry about finding a WiFi hotspot to connect to or figuring out how to set up a VPN on your device. Finally, most cloud VPNs provide a dedicated IP address which is much more secure and private than using your home WiFi or hotel WiFi.

Use A Virtual Private Network (VPN) App

If we had to offer just one piece of advice to anyone setting up a VPN on their home router it would be “use a virtual private network (VPN) app”. A lot of people avoid using VPNs because they think they’re too complex or difficult to set up. If you fall in this category, then you may be surprised to learn that a VPN app is both easy to use and has a lot of features available, making it completely worth your while.

VPN apps allow you to connect to a server which is maintained and hosted by a third party, typically a data center staffed by professionals. This approach to VPNs provides a number of advantages. First, since the service provider is maintaining the VPN server, it reduces the risk of experiencing errors or connection problems. Also, since the service provider is hosting the VPN server for you, it means you don’t have to worry about finding a WiFi hotspot to connect to or figuring out how to set up a VPN on your device. Finally, since the app is configured on the server, it means you don’t have to worry about managing all of this on your own device. Some good VPN apps allow you to connect up to 5 devices at once, providing you with greater flexibility.

Use A Hardware Key

A hardware key is a small device (usually magnetic) that can be plugged into an electronic device (typically a laptop or PC) to provide extra security when using it. For example, if you use a hardware key with your laptop and that laptop is stolen or lost, then someone stealing it would not be able to access your personal data or credit card information since they would not have the key to unlock the device. Hardware keys make it much easier to control who has access to your device and what they can do with it, which is why they are often included with security-related devices (like firewalls and VPNs).